te SKUNK FARMING FOR PROFIT. 
were all more or less acquainted with the 
tale, but place and hour gave interest to 
the story we had not felt before. — 
“Tell it to us, Joe,” we said in chorus. 
“Well,” said Joe, “it happened this way. 
A large party of Indians belonging to the 
Norridgewick tribe, came up the river in 
canoes, by night, and landed, early in the 
morning, near Mason Rock. Then they 
divided into 3 bands, one of which went 
into ambush at the foot of Stone’s hiil— 
it was called Fish-house hill then. An- 
other made a circuit, and approached the 
town from the South, at a point near 
where the college buildings stand. The 
third band went to the ‘Carrying-place,’ 
across the river. The 3 parties made at- 
tacks about the same time. Two men 
coming down Fish-house hill toward the 
landing were first fired at. One fell 
wounded and was captured. The other 
jumped from that high bank into the 
river, swam across the ‘Cove,’ and warned 
the soldiers at the fort. 
“Meanwhile, 2 houseshadbeen attacked, 
one near the ‘Carrying-place,’ the other 
at the opposite edge of the settlement. 
Two families were murdered or taken 
captive—just which is not exactly known, 
as no member of either was ever seen 
again. The savages burned these houses, 
and several more whose inmates had taken 
refuge in the fort. A family living near 
Rocky hill escaped by hiding in the 
bushes near the brook and watched the 
redskins plunder and destroy their home. 
“Late in the afternoon the Indians gath- 
ered at an old house on Fish-house hill, 
with their spoils and captives. The garri- 
son at the fort soon had a small cannon 
trained on the rods, which made them take 
to their canoes. Returning down the 
river, they landed on this point, and 
camped, probably in the little opening 
just behind this rise. Then they gave 
themselves up to the delights of torturing 
their captives. There was a great dance 
and pow-wow, I suppose, with the cruel- 
ties as a kind of finale. 
483 
“Well, it seems there was another gar- 
rison down below here somewhere. They 
had seen the smoke from the burning 
houses and heard the cannon. In those 
days there was no question as to what 
was going on! A party of 22 started up the 
river in 2 whale boats. Rounding that 
point of land down there at the ‘Chops,’ 
they saw the Indians’ camp fire on this 
point. Muffling their oars, they came 
across the bay, and in the darkness stealth- 
ily approached the point. They landed 
quietly, and creeping to the summit of 
the rise, beheld the Indians sleeping near 
their fire. The party were more than 
they could fight; so they fired a volley and 
retreated to their boats. They laid off 
in the bay till sunrise; and seeing no 
sign of life, landed the second time. The 
Indians had gone, taking their dead and 
wounded with them. It is said that vol- 
ley killed 20, as the whites had taken care 
to pick their men.” 
“What did they find on the point, Joe?” 
—for the narrator had paused. 
“They found the mutilated body of a 
man, bound to a tree—his arms and legs. 
- off and his tongue torn out,” growled 
oe. 
Again there was silence. The lights of 
the farm-houses had disappeared, but down 
on t bank of the Kennebec, from the 
point where the avenging party had first 
seen the fire of the savages, a solitary 
beacon gleamed. We turned toward the 
pine-covered knoll, behind which the poor 
captive had suffered, and involuntarily 
shivered. 
“That’s a gruesome kind of a yarn to 
sleep on,” said one; and all agreed with 
him, though nothing else was said. 
As we mounted the rise, and passed 
through the little thicket, the inviting 
lights of our camp shone reassuringly, 
and we soon lay down to sleep. Our 
bunks were comfortable and no dreams of 
Indians disturbed us through the night. 
Before gray dawn we sallied out to test 
our skill against the ducks, 
SKUNK FARMING FOR PROFIT. 
nf RAMSAY MACNAUGHTON, 
It has occurred to but few that skunk 
farming offers a new field for money mak- 
ing that involves no risk and requires little 
if any capital. It is.a much needed in- 
dustry and caimnot be overdone, suffer 
through competition, nor become unprofit- 
able. -Many isolated cases already exist 
throughout the states and are increasing, 
but are kept secret so that nothing is 
known or can be learned of them, Those 
in the business realize that they have hit 
on a money maker, and dread its discov- 
ery and adoption by others. Therein lies 
their only weak point. There can never 
bry any possibility be too many raising 
skunks. This is easily proven. Furs are 
in ever widening demand, while the ani- 
mals, being wild, are subject to steady ex- 
termination. With hardly one exception 
can they be domesticated profitably, That 
